WBL water level?

[Slyster]

Hey... i haven't been out in quite a while.. and with all this ridiculous amount of rain the last 2 months.. is WBL rising yet?

[TurnUpTheFishing]

Not much. Ordway is still out of the water in spots.

[Slyster]

That's crazy! Wheres all the water going? We had like 10" in August.. the wetest august on record... you think that alone would have raised the water 10" just directly.. and many more inches to boot from runoff from land.

[TurnUpTheFishing]

I was wondering the same thing... Its a pretty big lake maybe the watershed area for it just isnt that big? I hear its fed by lots of springs so you'd think that would help keep water levels up. but I gues not.

The water is down but the launch is still pretty good and there isnt much you really need worry about other than ordway bar.

[cjac]

Also watch out for the south shore directly off of Manitou Island, bouys are out but it's still a prop eater area. Amazing how low the lake is, typical spots to fish are minus three feet than expected.

Launch is also a one boat operation, you'll need a little patience with others at times......trust me as mine was tested!

Slyster....happy Bday!

Chris

[MOBY RICHARD*]

Another consideration is how far back from the open basin that the soils allow for absorbtion. Not only is enough water required to fill the open area, but also as much as these unseen/below surface lateral areas can absorb.

I was helping put a simple sandpoint well, in the Brainerd area many years ago, that was one mile from the nearest lake, and 1/4 mile from a small stream, and we hit water at about 4 feet below ground surface, and this was a pretty flat, all sand area most of the way to the lake.

I did not dig elsewhere, though there were several man-made livestock ponds, dug out only about 6 feet deep also, that held water all year, and they were not fed by springs.

This lag goes to show how much our aquifers are really reduced from these last years precipitation shortfalls and the extra high evaporation rates due to unusual heat.

I had wondered the same thing about alot of the lakes and ponds lagging in filling up...til I thought of my prior experience.

[beer batter]

I heard that the aquafers that feed WBL were nearly depleated from the early season drought, as well as the last couple years of below average rainfall. A friend that lives on the lake spoke with a DNR water shed expert that explained it may take as long as 15 years for the aquafers to gain their water levels back.

[Slyster]

Thanks cjac! I'll be heading out there tomorrow (WBL Thur Oct 4) and will report water levels... I have one super flat spot I know well enough to tell tiny changes from the sonar.. a month ago it was 3.6 feet. Anxious to see what it is now.

Any bets?

I'm at least hoping for 4'!

[LOW Lover]

Beer Batter is right on about the aquafers on WBL. Here is the web site for the White Bear Conservation District: http://www.wblcd.org/water_levels.htm It shows the history of the Lake Levels.

LOW

[Slyster]

Well... got out... if anything it's down .1 foot. Crazy.